


Faces in the Stars

by Queenofthedragonsharks



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Interspecies Relationship(s), M/M, Sleepy Cuddles, Space Husbands, Vulcan Kisses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-07
Updated: 2016-10-07
Packaged: 2018-08-19 23:49:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8228951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queenofthedragonsharks/pseuds/Queenofthedragonsharks
Summary: James T. Kirk is haunted by ghosts from his past. His first officer provides comfort.





	

**Author's Note:**

> (Comments make my day!!!)  
> Come say hi to me on tumblr:) http://belovedblabber.tumblr.com/  
> I vanished forever, and show back up with a fluffy Spirk fic. I know it's weird, just go with it. I've been super busy with school/depression, and I apologize for vanishing. Going to try to update my other fics soon. Anyway, I just recently got into Star Trek, and Spirk is life. Wanted to do some fluff with TOS Spirk. I think a lot about Kirk on Tarsus IV, and how that shaped him. My poor sunshine boy. Also, Vulcan hand makeouts!!! Sorry for anything that's not accurate...I'm new to Trek and I wrote this fast:) Please enjoy and let me know what you think. if people like this I'll write more  
> Sorry for weird formatting, I cannot for the life of me get it straightened out...  
> Note: I'm aware that Vulcans don't need as much sleep as humans, but for this fic I wanted to have a sleepy Spock, so there we are. Also, I'm pretty sure they emulate day and night on the Enterprise.  
> Rated T just to be safe.

He could hear the screaming across the plaza, despite his distance. Begging and cursing and toneless moans, filling the air. He was huddled in a group of the lucky  
ones, crowded like sheep as the rest of the flock was slaughtered. He didn’t move, wouldn’t even look. He just stood there.

  
James T. Kirk woke with a start, bolting upright into a sitting position. For a wild moment he forgot where he was, eyes darting in panic. The soft thrum of the ship  
brought him back to the present. He was on the Enterprise. He was a star ship captain aboard his ship. He wasn’t there anymore. Tarsus IV. was long gone.

  
When a few ragged breaths failed to calm him, he slid out of bed, turning on the lights with shaking hands. His face in the mirror was haggard and pale, sweat  
beading his forehead. Bones would have a few things to say, if he saw him. The clock read 2:30, and he couldn’t imagine falling back asleep anytime soon. With a sign, he accepted his fate, pulling on a shirt and slipping out the door.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The halls were dark and quiet, thrumming with the peaceful sounds of the Enterprise in movement. His hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Fortunately he knew his  
ship well enough to avoid running into any night patrols. He wanted to be alone.

  
He ended up at the observation deck without meaning to. He sat down on the ledge, pressing his forehead to the cool window and letting his mind wander among  
the stars. Usually they soothed him, but tonight instead of their cool comfort he saw the faces of the dead.

  
“Ahm”

  
The voice was soft, deliberate. He started slightly and turned, already knowing who’d be there. Spock was standing in the shadows by the door; face illuminated by  
the soft lights leaking through from the hallway. His first officer could be as silent as a cat when he wanted to.

  
“Hello Spock.” He tried for a smile and came up short.

  
“I’m sorry to startle you captain. I’ve been here for some time.”

  
“Can’t sleep either, huh?"

  
“I simply wished to observe the stars.”

  
“At this hour?”

  
Spock considered for a moment before conceding.

  
“I was having trouble resting, yes.”

  
“Isn’t that a bit illogical? A full night of sleep is important isn’t it? Although I suppose you don't need as much sleep as the rest of us...” He looked back out  
at the faces in the stars, his hands still shaking.

  
“Illogical maybe, but here we are none the less.”

  
“Nonetheless.”

  
Spock shifted slightly, glancing at the door.

  
“Do you wish me to leave captain? I don’t want to disturb-“

  
“No Spock. You were here first...Maybe I could use the company.” He moved slightly and patted the space next to him. “Here, sit down.”

  
Spock paused for a moment before carefully stepping over and lowering himself into a sitting position, poised and straight backed. They sat in silence for a moment, looking out into space. Kirk glanced at Spock, trying to read what he was thinking. After a moment the Vulcan spoke, voice still soft.

  
“If it’s not to forward captain, may I ask what’s bothering you?”

  
“Who says anything’s bothering me? Maybe I’m just restless.”

Spock gave him quick once over thoughtfully.

“You are pale, and your hands are shaking. Your breathing is unsteady and your posture suggests distress. In short-“

“I get the point Spock.” He smiled slightly, “I can’t hide anything from you, can I?”

“Some things, I’m sure. But you are clearly upset. Would sharing the source of your distress ease your mind?”

Spock’s eyes were watching him carefully, and Jim could swear he read concern in their depths. A spark of warmth rose through him.

“A dream. Tarsus IV. You recall the story.”

“Yes. However, you do not speak of your experience there beyond what is entirely necessary. I always assumed you wished to keep it to yourself…”

“It’s better that way. Or easier, maybe.” He looked at his hands and back at Spock. Something was shaking up through him, coming loose. “You know, Kodos might have been a hero, if Starfleet hadn’t arrived so soon. I was just a kid back then. Serious, maybe a bit full of myself. He killed them quickly, but they still screamed.”

His chest tightened, an old pain rising through him and filling his senses. The faces of the dead stared back at him from the stars. “He chose who lived by his own eugenic standards…I was one of the lucky ones... Some people talked about fighting to save the rest, said they wouldn't go along with it. But what could we do?" He could taste the smoke int he air as he spoke. "I can still hear the screaming. I remember the terror, the disgust, as I stood there. Some people tried to push towards the killing. They tried to help. I could hear the people dying, begging and screaming. Everything I believe shows that I should have been repulsed, enraged. I should have fought. But do you know what the only thought going through my head was?”

  
“What?” Spock’s voice was strange, his eyes intent.

  
“Relief that it wasn’t me.”

  
He’d been staring at his shaking hands as he spoke, trying not to see the faces in the stars. Now he looked back out the window, empty and drained, chest hollow with a dull pain. Spock was silent, probably unsure how to respond to such an emotional outburst. He shouldn't have-suddenly, Jim felt the tip of a finger tentatively brush his clenched hand. Before he could react, the whole hand moved to his, cupped so that the fingers gently rested on top of his knuckles. Startled by the sudden touch, he turned and met Spock’s eyes, unsure what to say. The Vulcan spoke before he could.

“I’m sorry Jim…” No stiffness in his voice, no formality. Just earnest concern, reaching out to comfort him. His eyes were liquid in the dark.

  
Jim let himself be silent, felt the warmth of Spock’s hand brushing his. Touch was intimate for Vulcans. That Spock was willing to reach out like this…he felt something soft and bright rise through him, a comfort he couldn’t name. His voice was ragged when he spoke, breaking at the edges.

  
“Thank you.”

  
Something hovered unsaid between them, Spock’s hand still on his. Jim glanced down at their hands, his still clenched and shaking, but warming under Spock’s gentle touch. He smiled slightly, glancing back at Spock.

  
“What’s that the human equivalent of? A kiss on the cheek?” Stupid thing to say. Spock raised his eyebrow in the expression Jim had grown so fond of, tilting his head slightly.

  
“Why do you feel the need to put it in human terms?”

  
“Because I’m human,” His smile grew slightly “and so are you, half human anyway.”

  
“Are you trying to insult me captain?”

  
Jim could swear that Spock actually looked amused.

  
“Me, insult my first officer? Never!”

  
“Then I must have been imagining several occurrences Jim.”

  
“Well, you are the imaginative type.” He glanced back out at the stars, forcing the faces of the dead away as best as he could. Spock’s presence helped, anchoring him. Without really meaning to, he lifted his thumb and ran it along the side of Spock’s hand and then down, tracing his palm. His breathing was beginning to slow back to normal. Spock let out a small puff of air, and Jim realized what he was doing, a sudden rush of embarrassment crashing into him. He removed his hand quickly, trying to ignore his distress at the separation.

  
“Spock, I’m sorry, wasn’t thinking-“

  
“Jim, it’s fine. It was giving you comfort. I did- I do not mind.” Spock’s voice drifted across the space between them, settling over him like a blanket. He reached for him again, gently placing two fingers on Jim’s hand where it was poised midair. Jim didn’t have a drop of Vulcan blood, but somehow the gesture set his skin aflame, energy snapping up his arm like static. He met Spock’s eyes carefully, trying to read his expression. What he saw was something new and soft, liquid and unsure at the edges. Something so incredibly human, or not human... something unique to Spock. His hands had stopped shaking. Carefully, he flattened his raised hand, pressing it into Spock’s. His first officer didn’t flinch or try to move away. Of all the things he could have done, he sighed, soft and quiet. So Jim reached for his other hand, pressing their finger together, tracing along the lines of Spock’s palm.. Carpe diem.

  
“Illogical captain.” Spock leaned his weight forward, and Jim could swear that he saw a smile ghost across his features.

  
“Highly illogical Mr. Spock?”

  
“Indeed.”

  
“So, what is this in human terms ?” Warmth filling him, silencing the screams and bringing back the stars.

  
“I would suggest,” Spock dragged two fingers up Jim’s palm “That you refrain from doing this in public.”

“Noted.”

There were so many things he wanted to say, words long unspoken. Maybe they didn’t need words. He leaned his forehead against Spock's, blinked in surprise when the Vulcan gently removed his hands and brought his arms up around Jim’s shoulders, carefully holding him, their breath mingling. He could feel warmth rolling off of Spock, comfort surrounding him. A sudden thought came to him, sure and concrete. This was where he was meant to be. He smiled when he spoke.

  
“You’re half human…”

  
“That is true. Your point?”

  
“So what about a human kiss?”

  
Spock let out a puff of air, almost a laugh.

  
“Illogical Jim.” There was so much warmth in the Vulcan’s dark eyes, and when he leaned forward and placed his lips on Jim's, there was a ghost of a smile shaping them.

  
The kiss was soft and slow, no urgency. It was as natural as breathing, the logical progression of events, maybe. They pulled apart after a moment, eyes bright.

  
“Spock-“

  
“It’s alright Jim.” A hand brushing through his hair, dark eyes filled with unbridled fondness. “We don’t need words.”

  
~~~~~~~~~~~

  
When the captain wasn’t the first to the bridge the next morning, several eyebrows were raised. More were raised when Mr. Spock also failed to appear promptly. By chance it was Bones who found them, asleep on the observation deck. Spock was leaning in the corner, head lolled back against the wall with the captain cradled against him, hair in disarray and smiling in his sleep. The Dr. paused for a moment, taking in the scene. As if on cue, Jim sat up, running his hand through his hair. “What-Oh, morning Bones…wait-“

  
Spock opened his eyes and sat up, raising an eyebrow.

  
McCoy opened his mouth before snapping it shut again and pinching the bridge of his nose. Spock broke the silence, blushing green for an instant before regaining his composure.

  
“It seems we overslept Captain. Unusual.”

  
“Illogical of you.” Jim stood and stretched, fixing McCoy with a dazzling smile. “Aren’t you always telling me to get more sleep Bones?”

  
The Dr. muttered something under his breath and crossed his arms. Jim smiled wider, jostling McCoy's shoulder.

  
“Well sometimes a change of scenery helps!”  
“Change of scenery and bedding.” Bones glanced at Spock, biting his lip to restrain what might have been a smile. “You’ve got Uhura and Sulu in a panic. They’re used to you two being bright and early."

  
“Well, best not to keep them waiting, right?”

  
Bones shook his head again and stalked out the door, muttering something about idiots finally getting over themselves. Kirk glanced up at Spock with a look that could melt glaciers, brushing his hand against the Vulcan's and briefly linking fingers.

  
“Ready to face the day Mr. Spock?”

  
“Lead on Captain.”


End file.
